Letters to the Editor
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sigh...about that "icing"
Okay Art Guerilla,
Here's the thing about icing. The rink is divided into three "zones" - each team's defensive zone demarcated by a blue line, and a neutral zone (the area between the two blue lines which has a red line in the middle - this is centre ice).
Icing happens when a player shoots the puck all the to opposite end of the ice before crossing the red line (and into the opposing team's section of the neutral zone).
Once a puck is iced the play stops and there is a face-off in the offending team's zone, and the offending team must take that face-off with the players that were on the ice at the time of the infraction.
why do they do this?
because otherwise, a team with the lead would spend the rest of the game simply firing the puck the length of the ice whenever the gained possession. Think of it like basketball's 24 second shot clock, it compels the team with the lead to continue playing instead of playing "keep away". Plus there's the added penalty of forcing potentially tired players on the ice for the face-off. Therefore, Icing actually increases the likelihood of more scoring!